Haider Ali (boxer)

Haider Ali (born 12 November 1979) is a Pakistani retired professional boxer who fought in the featherweight division. He is a Commonwealth Games gold medalist and an Olympian.

For other people named Haider Ali, see Haider Ali (disambiguation).

Haider Ali
Statistics
Nickname(s)Hazara
Weight(s)Super Featherweight
Height5 ft 8 1⁄2 in (174 cm)[1]
NationalityPakistani
Born (1979-11-12) 12 November 1979[1]
Quetta, Pakistan[1]
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights9
Wins5
Wins by KO1
Losses3
Draws1
No contests0
Medal record
Men's boxing
Representing  Pakistan
Asian Games
1998 Bangkok Featherweight
South Asian Games
1999 Kathmandu Featherweight
Asian Championships
2002 Seremban Featherweight
Commonwealth Games
2002 Manchester Featherweight

Early Life & Amateur Career

Haider started boxing at an early age, having decided to become a boxer after watching fellow countryman Hussain Shah win a bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.[2]

Haider became the National Champion in 1998 whist winning gold medals in the Green Hill International Boxing Tournament held at Karachi in 1998 and the Imam Khomeini International Boxing Tournament held in Iran in 1999.

Additionally, Haider won a bronze medal in the 1998 Asian Games held in Bangkok, losing in the semi-finals to Indonesia's Hermensen Ballo.

Representing Pakistan, Haider won a gold medal in the featherweight division in 1999 South Asian Games.

Haider Ali qualified for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney but was defeated 5-4 by 1992 Summer Olympics bronze-medallist Ramazan Palyani in the Round of 32.

Haider won a bronze medal at the 24th Kings Cup boxing tournament in Bangkok being defeated by Thailand's Suttisak Samaksaman 7-3 in the semi-finals.[3]

In 2002, Haider Ali defeated Thailand's Suttisak Samaksaman in the finals to win the gold medal in the Asian Championships which were held in Malaysia. He received the award of 'The Best Boxer of the Tournament' for the Asian Championships.

Haider won Pakistan's first gold medal in the any Commonwealth Games by defeating India's Som Bahadur Pun by a margin of 28-10 in a four-round final in the featherweight division of 2002 Commonwealth Games which was held in Manchester.[4]

Following his victory in the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Haider received the Order of Merit from the government of Pakistan along with gifts such as a Jeep, house as well as a golden Kalashnikov rifle.[2]

Pro career

In 2003, Haider moved to Leyton in East London and signed Frank Warren as his manager and embarked upon a professional boxing career.[2]

During his medical, he was found to have two perforated eardrums. The fact that he was able to box at the level he had without it affecting his performance was notable.

After undergoing surgery, Haider made his professional debut defeating Buster Dennis via points at York Hall on the undercard of Merdud Takaloo's WBU light-middleweight title defence against Jose Rosa Gomez.[5]

Haider went on to beat both Jason Nesbitt and Jus Wallie via points in his debut year as a professional boxer.

However, he was not able to keep his early success going and lost his fourth fight against Stevie Bell via points.

In 2005, Haider knocked undefeated prospect and 2002 Commonweight Games lightweight gold medallist Jamie Arthur out via a clash of heads.[6]

Haider then lost his sixth fight to future three-division world champion Ricky Burns and subsequently was dropped by Frank Warren’s Sports Network.[7]

Haider then moved to Walsall and attempted to restart his boxing career, but following a further loss to journeyman Daniel Thorpe and a points victory against Kristian Laight, Haider's boxing career ended with a points draw against journeyman Carl Allen.[7]

Post-fight Career

Following his retirement, Haider coached boxing within the UK for over 10 years and is currently the head boxing coach at Kings Boxing Gym in Perth, Australia.[8]

Professional boxing record
Professional record summary
9 fights 5 wins 3 losses
By knockout 1 1
By decision 4 2
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
9 Draw 5–3-1 Carl Allen PTS 4 25 Mar 2006 Meadowside Leisure Centre, Burton-on-Trent, UK
8 Win 5–3 Kristian Laight PTS 4 16 Feb 2006 Town Hall, Dudley, UK
7 Loss 4–3 Daniel Thorpe RTD 4 (6), 3:00 25 Nov 2005 Town Hall, Walsall, UK
6 Loss 4–2 Ricky Burns PTS 8 17 Jun 2005 Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, UK
5 Win 4–1 Jamie Arthur TKO 3 (6), 2:25 21 Jan 2005 Bridgend Leisure Centre, Bridgend, UK
4 Loss 3–1 Stevie Bell PTS 6 22 May 2004 Kingsway Leisure Centre, Widnes, UK
3 Win 3–0 Jus Wallie PTS 4 29 Nov 2003 Braehead Arena, Glasgow, UK
2 Win 2–0 Jason Nesbitt PTS 4 17 Jul 2003 Goresbrook Leisure Centre, Dagenham, UK
1 Win 1–0 Buster Dennis PTS 4 24 May 2003 York Hall, Bethnal Green, UK Professional debut

References
  1. "Haider Ali". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  2. "Boxing: Fiery Ali ready to deliver". telegraph.co.uk. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  3. "Indian challenge in King's Cup boxing ends". reddif.com. Rediff. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  4. "Awards". sports.gov.pk. Pakistan Sports Board. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  5. "Takaloo retains title". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  6. "Hard-up Arthur bows out of boxing". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  7. "Determined Ali makes untimely comeback bid". business-live.co.uk. Business Live. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  8. "Kings Boxing Gym - News & Promotions". kingsboxinggym.com.au. Kings Boxing Gym. Retrieved 15 January 2020.


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